Looking
Back or looking Forward?
Rear View Mirror (RWM) is a
very common thing found on Vehicles.
Thinking of its
characteristics,
Through the RMW, we see the
objects behind the vehicle. It provides information, which will help us to
decide further & forward course and also warn about dangers. And although
we do not keep looking thro it, we look at it from time to time.
These characteristics make
one to ponder over Rear View Mirror in one's own life. I mean looking back to
our past / history is like looking in to our own RWM.
Many aspects and phenomena
in professional as well as personal parlance are comparable with RWM. Take for
example - Tradition, Culture, Experience, Knowledge, Learning,
Relationships,.. Also some other terms,
which are so close to our day-to-day professional activities are mirrored in
the concept of RWM. Examples are Knowledge management, Learning from Past,
Continual Improvement, ERP, ….
If one keeps looking only at
the RWM, there is a big danger of head-on collision in front. At the same time,
if it is totally ignored, there is a danger of collision from other sides. This
gives clue to apparent contradiction regarding 'living in' and 'knowledge of'
the History / past. So while living in History may mean no progress, its ignorance
may as well make us part of History soon.
Thus the key lies neither in
looking back nor in looking forward. The key lies in ""Looking Back
for Moving Forward"".
These were few reflections,
while looking at a RWM as well as looking thro My Own RWM!
Can
you see Your Own RWM?
G.
P. Joshipura
27.06.03
(This is one of the early articles that I wrote in company magazine)
I once met Roshi Philip Kapleau, the author of The Three Pillars of Zen.
He was one of the first Westerners to go to Japan and do intense
practice there. He was suffering from very advanced Parkinson's disease
and had terrible physical discomfort, along with the involuntary spasms
that come from the disease. One thing he said to me really stuck. As he
was sitting there, writhing, he looked into my eyes and said with great
intensity, "It doesn't matter how much practice you do. If you don't
bring it into your daily life, it is all a waste." The power of this
statement came from the depths of his realization and his daily battle
with Parkinson's, and it shot straight into my heart.
We
were poor monks who needed buildings. We couldn't afford to employ a
builder — the materials were expensive enough. So I had to learn how to
build: how to prepare the foundations, lay concrete and bricks, erect
the roof, put in the plumbing — the whole lot. I had been a theoretical
physicist and high-school teacher in lay life, not used to working with
my hands. After a few years, I became quite skilled at building.
“You
must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops
of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
I
have been confronted with many difficulties throughout the course of my
life, and my country is going through a critical period. But I laugh
often, and my laughter is contagious. When people ask me how I find the
strength to laugh now, I reply that I am a professional laugher. [...]
“Yes,
I was angry. And I was a little afraid. After all I’ve not been free in
so long. But, when I felt that anger well up inside of me, I realized
that if I hated them after I got outside that gate, then they would
still have me. I wanted to be free so I let it go.” ~Nelson Mandela upon leaving prison after 27 years of confinement
